Review of 'Goals and Means: Anarchism, Syndicalism, and Internationalism in the Origins of the Federación Anarquista Ibérica'

Jason Garner's monograph on the origins of the Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI) is an illuminating and much-welcomed addition to the inchoate body of English-language scholarship dealing specifically with preCivil War Spanish anarchism. Exploring the symbiotic yet tumultuous relationship between syndicalism and anarchism, and the manner in which it impacted the course of the Spanish labour movement over the three or so decades that preceded the founding of the Second Republic, the book also touches on adjacent themes like the origins of anarchism in Spain, the impact of Bolshevism on revolutionary politics in post First World War Europe, the experiences of the Spanish revolutionary diaspora, and the conflict between revolutionary fervour and 'reformist' pragmatism. The last-named is of particular import as it is the motif which runs through all of the book's eight chapters, serving to poignantly illustrate the self-conflicted nature of Spanish anarcho-syndicalism during the years leading up to its most challenging period.